


The Story of Tonight

by midillu



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Comforts Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Panic Attacks, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 21:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20589287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midillu/pseuds/midillu
Summary: Virgil, new to being around the other three, helps Patton through a panic attack when Logan and Roman don't know how to handle it.





	The Story of Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the Hamilton song, I figured it was fitting of a Thomas Sanders fic. 
> 
> This is something that hit me out of nowhere and I just had to write it. 
> 
> Based on the idea that Virgil and Patton are the two sides that deal primarily in emotions, and they are more equipped to help with panic attacks than the other two, and it spiraled into this.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING- detailed description of panic attacks/bullying behavior
> 
> Stay safe and I hope you enjoy!

When Virgil first transitioned to the 'Light Side', as he had heard it called, he was understandably wary. Kindness was something he had yet to experience in this so-called 'good' part of the mindscape. Logic, Morality, and Creativity were quick to alienate him, constantly disagreeing with him and fighting his contributions, some more outspoken about it than others.

By the time he had spent a week in their part of the mindscape, he was frustrated, upset, and disheartened. Nothing he said was being heard. Logic was ignoring him, Patton was trying to follow suit, and Roman was... doing the exact opposite. He couldn't decide what was worse, being ignored, or being openly hated. Princey used every opportunity he could to make fun of Virgil, demonizing him and discrediting his every word. It was like they were making him out to be a bad guy. 

Virgil paused, abruptly pulled from his train of thought, hand on his bedroom door handle, and stopped. Was he a bad guy? Sure, he originally came from the area of the mindscape that the big three had dubbed the 'Dark Side', but was he actually bad? He didn't mean to be, he just had concerns. About everything. If he was being honest, the majority of their initial-stage ideas were awful to begin with, it's not like he was doing anything they wouldn't have to eventually do themselves. He was just more efficient. 

Yes, he shot down most of their ideas, but the majority of Princey's ideas were going to be bad for Thomas, and would only cause him pain in the future. He was just protecting Thomas. 

Right? 

Virgil didn't want to be a bad guy. 

Instead of going down to the kitchen area for lunch, Virgil found himself back on his bed. He didn't remember taking his hand off the door handle, never mind walking back into the recesses of his room. But he supposed that must've happened while he was in the middle of his contemplation. That didn't matter though, it wasn't as if they actually needed to eat or drink, it just kept a sense of normality in the mind-space, as well as a more accurate sense of time, in relation to Thomas' own daily life. The longer they were awake, the longer he was awake.

Which is why bedtime was strictly enforced among the Sides. It was an unwritten rule, one that everyone kept-

3:24 AM. It was 3:24 in the morning. Where did the time go? It was lunchtime, he was going to go downstairs for lunch. What happened? He didn't know. Maybe no one noticed, maybe Thomas was-

Wide awake. He checked.

3:26 AM. Should he go downstairs? Try to sleep? Which would be worse? Thomas would be grumpy if he slept now, waking up would be difficult. Thomas would be exhausted if he stayed up, he wouldn't be able to focus on the next day's work. What should he do? Would the other sides get mad at him? 

Virgil elected to try sleeping. He ended up laying awake, only managing to catch a couple of hours of sleep before he was called into existence with Thomas and the others, bedhead and all. Of course, the others were well-rested, excluding Thomas, and seemed rather upset.

"Well look who decided to show up," Princey declared, immediately whirling to glare at Virgil. 

Electing to remain quiet, he listened to them berate him, trying to force the comments to bounce off of him, but his efforts were in vain. He felt every word pierce his heart, only solidifying what he knew to be their view of him. 

"That line of thinking fails to resolve the problem," Logic was saying. 

"The problem is the Prince of Darkness over here!" Princey snarled. 

"I think we should just calm down, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation," Morality tried, and failed, to mediate, as the situation devolved further. Something in the back of Virgil's brain alerted him that there was something wrong, but before he could take a moment to investigate, Thomas turned from the scene in front of him to look over at Virgil.

Wincing, Virgil noticed how tired Thomas looked, his eyes lacking their usual luster, and his hair was more unruly than normal. For a moment he felt guilty, but struggled to find the words to express it. 

"What happened, Anxiety?" Thomas asked, loud enough that Virgil could hear him, but not loud enough to disturb the heated discussion going on around them. 

"I lost track of time, I'm sorry, I just got so focused-" He was interrupted before he could finish. 

"On what?" Princey demanded, suddenly turning his attention back to Virgil. "What exactly is it that you do here? Because you haven't exactly done anything useful this far. You're just-"

"Stop it!" Morality finally found his voice, shouting loud enough that they all froze. "Just stop it!" The second time was much softer, his voice trembling as he finally lost his composure, a tear slipping down his cheek. Virgil realized the tingling was much more prominent than it had been a moment previous, and by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. 

Morality dropped to his knees, a hiccuping sob filling the otherwise silent not-room, as the Thomas look-alike began to shake violently. Virgil recognized the episode for what it was, a stress-induced panic attack, but the others seemed oblivious, asking Morality questions and attempting to approach him. 

"D-don't fight, stop i-it," Morality was whimpering, and when Virgil saw Princey make an attempt to reach for the distraught side, he moved before he even had a second to think about it. 

Slapping the dramatic side's hand away, Virgil leveled him with a stare. He could tell that Princey wanted to argue, but another choked sob appeared to make him rethink that decision. Logic hovered nearby, but thankfully didn't approach, and by the glazed look in Thomas' eye, Virgil could tell that this episode wasn't far from affecting not just Morality, but Thomas as well. 

Thinking quickly, Virgil dropped into a crouch in front of Morality, making sure to talk in low, soothing tones. 

"Morality, can you hear me? Move your finger if you can hear me." There was a deafening pause, only the sounds of soft sobs filling Virgil's ears, before a twitch of Morality's pointer finger caught his eye. Letting out a breath of relief, Virgil shifted a little closer. "Is it alright to touch you? Move your finger again for yes." Holding his breath, he waited, but the twitch didn't come. 

"That's alright," Virgil murmured, making sure to hold still, watching as soft brown eyes peeked up at him. "You're doing great, it's okay. Deep breaths. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight."

Virgil began exaggerating his own breathing, watching Morality slowly start to follow suit. Guiding him through the counts, Virgil found himself entirely focused on Morality, not realizing that the other three present were looking on in amazement. He continued his words of encouragement, keeping the time and keeping Morality focused on him until finally, Virgil could see him start to relax.

Eventually, Morality started to relax his posture, uncurling himself from the uncomfortable position he had ended up in, and finally looking at Virgil properly. Virgil remained quiet, giving Morality a moment to orient himself and pull himself out of the panic attack more fully. "Is it alright if I give you a hug?" The soft words were met with a fervent nod, and Virgil found himself chuckling when he wound up with an armful of Morality, almost falling over in the process.

He gently rubbed at the other side's back, using Morality's tactile nature to keep him grounded. Eventually, he heard a quiet "thank you", and shrugged his shoulders. 

"No problem," Virgil responded lightly. "I get them all the time too, it's okay." 

Virgil didn't notice how everyone froze at his words, and a moment later when Morality and Virgil finally stood, the other three took note of how similar their appearances were, ragged and exhausted, their cheeks tearstained and their bodies slumped. 

Logic came to the conclusion that Virgil must have had a panic attack the night before.

Creativity realized it must have been pretty bad, as even though Morality looked awful, Virgil looked like death. 

Thomas understood, because he had partially experienced what Virgil had, though to a much lesser extent. 

Morality empathized, because while his experience with panic attacks was tenuous, he knew that Virgil's was almost constant. 

Soon after, Virgil started to notice little things.

How the name-calling Princey was so fond of transitioned from cold-hearted to fond. How he always found some story to tell when Virgil was feeling down, something light that would brighten his mood, even the smallest bit.

How sometimes, in the middle of the night, when all he could do was drag himself down to the common area to curl up on the recliner and sob, he would always end up with a blanket wrapped around him and a warm cup of tea in his hands, Logan nearby in case he needed assistance.

How, when he retreated to his room for extended periods of time, Morality was always the one to come and check on him, bring him a plate of cookies, and just sit with him, allowing him to vent his feelings to someone who would eagerly listen, and make him feel heard. 

Eventually, Logic became Logan.

Creativity became Roman.

Morality became Patton. 

And while he was hesitant at first, eventually he shared his own name.

They aren't, and will never be, perfect. But they try, and they love, and they heal. And together, that's enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you enjoyed, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


End file.
